A NEW outbreak of foot and mouth disease has been confirmed in Middlewich, dashing hopes that it was under control in the county.

It was thought the virus had peaked in Cheshire as there had been no confirmed cases of infection since April 1.

But MAFF inspectors confirmed an outbreak at Mooresbarrow, Sproston, last Tuesday. Within hours of the news, 125 sheep at the farm had been slaughtered.

Officials could not say whether the latest outbreak was connected with the April 1 case at nearby farmland at Oakley Manor.

It brings to 11 the number of cases confirmed in Cheshire, mainly in the Nantwich area. Some 4,171 sheep and 863 cattle have been slaughtered on infected farms. In Mid Cheshire the first outbreak was confirmed at Desley Heath Farm at Little Leigh in Northwich on March 24.

Owner of Hill Farm, at Sproston, farmer Margaret Thornhill, said the disease was found in sheep on fields at Mooresbarrow.

She added: 'No infection was found at Hill Farm itself, but animals from here had to be slaughtered as well. The worse thing is that we were told we cannot use the land now for six months. We can't keep animals on it and can only use it for silage.

'I really don't know how we will survive. It is completely devastating.

'We have no animals on the farms now. We got rid of the cattle last year and the sheep were not actually ours.

'While I felt that things were dealt with very quickly here, I thought they could have killed the animals much quicker at the other farm and maybe this would never have happened to us.' All the animals were buried, under Army supervision, at Mooresbarrow.